Bright Eyes
by Berneri
Summary: Ellie. Joel. Jackson. But something is different. Someone comes to their lives unexpectedly. Someone fluffy. Tommy's settlement may seem like a safe place to live, but in this world you can never let your guard down. Rated M for upcoming chapters.
1. Chapter 1 - Discovery

**A/N: Oh frick, how I ended up doing Fanfic with multiple chapters?!**

**Blame Jamppa, my dear friend who kept (and still keeps doing it, because I am still getting ideas for new chapters!) me inspired by doing amazing sketches and complete pictures of these fellows.**

**And then there is Johis. Damn. My best friend who accepted the challenge to translate my fic from Finnish to English. Again. It's super big deal because this project is –BIG- and it will take so many hours from her to translate this. She is so awesome, there are not even enough words to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So much.**

**Like it is not enough, she helped us to come up with the name of dog. Oh man. Wonderful person, I tell you. **

**(New chapters in every couple weeks or so, there are many chapters finished, yes, but not translated and I don't want to give too much stress to Johis, who voluntarily is doing this for us! Be patient, thank you)**

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**The Last of Us © Naughty Dog**

**Macy © Jamzenn and Berneri**

**No Joel/Ellie-pairing! Only Father/daughter moments.**

**Rated M for language and some scenes.**

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**Wanna know more? We have Tumblr-blog! It's name is "lifewithmacy" and you will find link from my profile too**

**There you can find lots of information of this project!**

**There will be also mention every time new chapter is out! So if you don't have FF-account but still want to know when new chapter is published (and see awesome fan arts), you can follow our blog! There is also separated ask/comment-section.**

**Thank you for reading and well.. Enjoy! (This is only artist note this long, I swear.)**

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**BRIGHT EYES**

**• CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERY •**

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"No way, you can't be serious, people used to bring an entire tree in the house and did what… Decorated it?!"

Ellie laughed dubiously at Joel's explanations about the details of Christmas. The topic had been brought up as he had realized there were only a few days until Christmas Day. Tommy and Maria would no doubt try to arrange something special for the kids, but it would still be far from what Christmas used to be back in the day. And when Joel had mentioned it, Ellie had naturally wanted to know more.

"Yeah."

The man was nodding solemnly and directed his gray horse towards the next house. During the winter time travelling in the forest was more convenient on a horse. Not to mention the speed.

"Sounds really silly!"

The red haired girl commented and dismounted from the horse, jumping onto the thick snow.

"But it's true."

Joel chortled and gripped the shoulder strap of his trustworthy brown backpack. Besides a rifle and a 9mm pistol he was carrying a shorty, Ellie in turn had her pistol and her trusty switchblade and bow. A bunch of arrows could be seen peeking out of her smaller backpack.

Their business in the forest was not essentially about hunting this time, as a separate hunting group had already been sent out in the forest, but you could never know if you ended up running into something that you could shoot. There was never too much food. And Ellie was pretty damn good at shooting. Their main task at the moment, however, was going through the abandoned houses in the nearby village.

"Gavino, we'll be back in a bit. Stay here and wait for us, will you?"

Ellie pet her horse's muzzle affectionately and scratched him behind the ears. The stallion liked it, just like Maria had said the first time the couple had arrived in Jackson half a year ago and the girl had seen the horse on the courtyard. And later on stolen it… And now he was practically her horse.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you'd named him like that."

Joel was standing behind Ellie, rolling his eyes and petted his own horse that he had just been mounted on a little while ago.

"What? I think it's an awesome name!"

The girl snorted and started strutting overdramatically towards the nearby house, assuming that was where Joel was headed too. The man followed close behind, seeing his breath form clouds in the air. The temperature was still tolerable, but the evening was slowly turning into night.

Going through the houses had already become an everyday routine for the pair. They would open the door, listen out for any infected and then split up to look for possible equipment they could utilize in Jackson or trade in for something. So far they had been surprisingly lucky with the loot scattered around in the previous houses, and Joel decided that this would be their final destination for today.

Ellie moved upstairs, whereas her companion remained downstairs ransacking the kitchen and the dining room. The man was smiling contentedly upon finding the booze stash of the former inhabitant. He grabbed three bottles of the alcohol, you could never have too much disinfectant.

Out of a sudden he heard loud rumbling upstairs that almost made him jump out of his skin and next he saw the girl run past him to the back door without a word.

"Ellie!"

His shout echoed on the walls of the house, then suddenly there was a runner half stumbling, half running downstairs. Ellie turned around, clearly frightened, to see how the runner lunged towards Joel - who was luckily prepared for it.

"Fuck!"

Joel snarled and shot exactly one bullet that caused the runner to fall on the wooden floor lifelessly. When he had turned into an infected he had been wearing jeans and a thick, black winter coat. His long, black hair was dirty and you could already see some tiny fungi sprouting between the strands. For a brief moment the man was just staring at the dead creature and took a few deep breaths before quickly striding over to where the girl was.

"Don't ever do that again. Do you hear me, never again!"

Joel grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her lightly.

"Don't sweat it, it was an accident!"

Ellie said in a belittling tone and swept Joel's hands off her shoulders. But then her gaze reached the man's eyes and she could actually see concern and hurting written on the otherwise so stern face of the man, and the girl felt a stab of conscience.

"Hey, don't look like that, ok? I'm sorry. Not going to do it again. Sorry."

The girl bit her lower lip and tried to use a puppy face that normally wouldn't work on Joel. Luckily this time it actually made the man smile and the tension between them was gone in a flash.

"Oh, why did you suddenly dart here like that? You clearly didn't know about the runner till it spurted downstairs towards me..."

Ellie froze for a second, until she suddenly remembered something, that the infected had distracted her from for a while.

"I saw something out of the window."

Ellie replied bemusedly and swiftly jumped out of the nearby broken window on the porch of the farmhouse. This time the girl stopped to wait for the older man, but at the same time the green eyes were glancing over the terrain, looking for something and focusing in the distance. At the same time Joel stepped closer trying to see what the girl saw.

"Look there, doesn't it look like a dog? I saw it out of the window upstairs."

The young girl stretched her arm, pointing at the edge of the forest near the lower part of the hill. The man narrowed his eyes, causing a few more wrinkles to appear on his already furrowed face, until he figured out what was being pointed at. There was a barbed wire running near the forest, and stuck on it what seemed to be an animal that appeared to be a dog, at least from afar.

"Hmm, you might be right. But I guess it's dead already, that barbed wire seems to be stuck around it pretty nasty."

Joel didn't want to give the girl too much hope. But the reply did not satisfy the redhead, Ellie just grunted discontentedly and grabbed Joel by the sleeve of his dark gray winter coat, trying to pull him down the slope. It was easier said than done, as the snow on the way was in some places almost up to her waist.

"Let's go have a look at least!"

Joel hesitated for a moment, the barbed wire was next to a dense forest that didn't look that inviting and they were already meant to be going back to Tommy… Not forgetting the thick snow that would reach up to even Joel's knees, let alone the smaller girl.. The girl whose dissatisfied stare was fixed to the dog, that was laying in a seemingly uncomfortable position, its backside partly covered in snow. And it looked so young too, almost like a puppy.

"Poor baby…"

Ellie's voice was quiet and compassionate.

Joel rubbed his neck.

"I don't know about this Ellie, we got-"

"Look!"

The animal lying next to the fence moved slightly and the movement was not missed by the keen-eyed girl. At that moment Joel knew there was no chance in changing Ellie's mind anymore. Accompanied by a deep sigh he set off to wade through the snow, with Ellie walking triumphantly on his heels, yet feeling a bit worried about the dog. She had seen the world enough to not be too gullible about the situation and knew there was a high chance that Joel would simply have to end the animal's suffering. But everything had a possible flipside.

Although the fence was just a stone's throw away, it took surprisingly long to get there due to the thick layer of snow, and the steep downhill wasn't helping. Joel sighed out of relief when he finally reached the more shallow snow. For Ellie this passage was a lot easier, all she had to do was walk behind the man in his footsteps in the path he had created. They both had their pants wet from the melting snow passing through and as a result the pair was shaking a bit from the cold.

But it was easier to walk now, and the destination was just about 30 feet away. The young dog, partly hanging on the wire, could be seen better by every step and its movement increased the closer the pair got to it. Joel started soothing the animal and spoke in a calm manner as he got closer.

"Shh… shh.. we won't hurt you. Good boy. It's okay."

Soon the duo got to the dog who had now started increasingly fidgeting and moving its thin body around. Joel grabbed the puppy by its neck and settled it with a firm grip. Now he could have a closer look at the injuries…

The barbed wire was tightly wrapped around the right front paw of the puppy, and all the wriggling had not made it any better. Many of the spikes had dug in deep in the leg. A few other parts of the dog's body were hurt, most likely as a result of getting scraped by the wire, causing its sides to be quite bloody and its neck had been stained by some blood too, now dried and clumpy. But the amount of blood didn't always reveal the true nature of the injuries, and Joel knew that well.

Ellie was crouched next to the dog, petting the soft, clean part of fur on its neck, flinching a bit when her hand touched the blood. The girl was waiting for his verdict on the condition of the dog now, and that was the only thing that mattered at the moment.

"We have to get his leg free, that's the most critical thing now."

The girl felt like screaming out of joy, as if it had been no good, Joel would have had no choice but to shoot the dog on the spot. She ended up settling for a smile though, because she didn't want to scare the dog any further, it already seemed to be in a bit of a panicky state due to not being able to move its limbs. Even though you could see the whites of its eyes, the dog was not showing any signs of aggression.

"I'm no vet but at least the other legs seem to work fine. The thing worryin' me the most are these deeps cuts on the front leg and how thin he is. Who knows how long he's been hangin' here. Must have tried to jump over the fence to get in that forest… his ear's torn too, there's the rest of it."

Joel pointed at the dried piece of skin hanging from the fence higher above, and Ellie grimaced compassionately. Joel shook the bag off his shoulders.

"Get me the broken piece of the pipe. And give me your switchblade."

The man instructed, and Ellie was quick to do as she was told.

Joel gratefully took the materials and got on with it. Ellie kept the dog still, and it wasn't trying to struggle anymore. As if it knew that help was finally here.

At first the fence didn't seem to give in, but after working patiently, one of the spikes on the puppy's leg finally came loose. Soon it was followed by another one, and another. At times the man encountered some difficult parts and was cursing quietly under his breath. It took an hour, but after a few small whines, squeals and a lot of hard work the dog was finally free. It was naturally limping the front leg a little, but even though Ellie finally let go of the dog it wasn't trying to run away. The puppy was just standing still and staring. It seemed to be exhausted as well.

"Good boy, well done."

The man pet the dog's head a few times.

"Joel…"

Ellie whispered in his ear quietly, giggling.

"It's a girl."

Joel stopped in his tracks and took a quick look under the dogs belly.

"Oh yea."

The girl couldn't hold her laughter back anymore looking at her companion's surprised face.

Joel tried to keep a poker face on, but ended up laughing at the whole situation too.

For a moment they were just laughing and giggling at the whole thing, until Joel had a look around.

And the moment was over.

"Goddamit, it's gettin' dark already! Tommy's gonna kill us. We're goin' now."

The man collected the stuff he had used, put everything in his backpack and picked it up. He gave the girl the switchblade, and like always she effortlessly closed it and put it in her left front pocket.

"What about the puppy?"

Ellie asked softly and pet the dogs back with small strokes. Her fur was so soft, but the girl could clearly feel the spine and ribs through it. Joel had found a small, fitting piece of bandage in his bag and had wrapped it around the front leg.

"Well, I didn't work all that time to get her free so I could just leave her there to die."

After saying this he picked the dog up lightly on his arms and started walking uphill, the same way they had come down earlier. The puppy remained calm.

They were both a bit out of breath by the time they reached the top of the hill, but quickly proceeded through the house to the front yard where the horses were still patiently waiting. Joel lifted the dog up on the saddle in front of Ellie.

"Gav's a lot steadier on his feet."

Joel answered to the girl's unspoken question before she even had the chance to ask. After this he mounted his own horse and they left the area with a quick gait.

Ellie had a lot going on in her mind and a childlike excitement took over her as she was correcting the position of the sleepy puppy on her lap.

_A dog. We have a puppy!_

Tommy had been waiting for them at the guard post with his rifle. His patrol shift had ended a good few hours ago but he had demanded to stay until Joel and Ellie were safely back. Maria had brought him some food and a bottle of water, of which he was grateful to his wife. And she understood that there was no point in trying to persuade him to come back. Tommy was smiling at the thought, when he suddenly heard a sound he had been looking forward to; the sound of the hooves of two horses on the forest path. Joel and Ellie appeared in his field of view, and the younger brother was more than relieved. They were safe. Tommy reported this to Maria on the radio and could hear a sigh of relief from her too.

"Oi! What the hell was holding up you two! We were getting sick with worry!"

The man shouted to them from the wall even though they were still quite far away and told a few of his men to open the large concrete gates. By this time the pair had dismounted and now walked inside the walls.

Joel had taken both their horses now and handed them over to the stable master, who had rapidly arrived to collect his horses. Ellie had the puppy on her arms, the experience and the stress from it had taken it's toll on the little dog.

Joel nodded his head towards Ellie and the dog.

"There's the reason why it took us so long, wasn't our intention to worry you guys. Ellie spotted this poor thing, she was stuck in a fence with barbed wire. I freed her and before I knew it it was dark."

The man placed his hand on his little brother's shoulder and pat him a few times apologetically.

Tommy didn't even ask why they ended up taking the dog with them. This was clearly one of those situations where Joel had had no reason to object to anything. If this made the girl happy, it was enough for him. Because Ellie was his whole world, and everyone in the town knew it.

Tommy was looking at the dog thoughtfully and suddenly seemed remember something.

"Wait a minute, where did you run into this puppy?"

He suddenly asked, and Joel summarized everything that had happened in the past hours, also mentioning the runner they had found in the house. For some reason the described what the infected had looked like, which made Tommy stop him abruptly.

"Dammit, it was Bob."

The little brother grunted, the name made both Joel and Ellie raise their eyebrows.

"Bob?" Joel asked, intrigued.

"The lone traveller who turned up in Jackson last week to trade some stuff. Boston had Bill, Bob was here. Well, it was only a matter of time, he had an unbelievably risky way of doing things. Shame though."

Tommy shrugged, although a bit dismally, and at that moment Joel finally remembered the man they were talking about but didn't remember the puppy.

"So this dog has a name?", Ellie asked the man's little brother with a quiet voice.

Tommy scratched his beard and lifted his gaze up in the sky, trying to remember.

"Yea, uhh… I think it was Cinderella, if I remember correctly."

"Are you serious..?"

Ellie let out a disgruntled snort and turned to Joel, looking at him with big eyes.

"So I can give the little one a lot nicer name, can't I?"

The girl asked, with high hopes.

"Who said we're gonna keep her?"

The man asked with a small grin on his face, to which Ellie replied by hugging the dog even tighter against her body, with a stern face. To her surprise there was no need for an argument though, as Joel just ruffled her red hair and kneeled down to kiss her lightly on her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, baby girl." And for a brief moment Joel was sure he could see the whole universe in the girl's eyes.

"But we'll come up with a name together. I don't want another Callus."

Ellie just replied with a big mischievous grin.

And damn, at that moment Ellie was the happiest girl in the world, walking through the town between Tommy and Joel, holding her very own dog in her arms.

Suddenly Christmas didn't seem so silly anymore.

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**Thank you for reading!**

**Tell me what do you think, do you want more? **

**Cheers! :)**


	2. Chapter 2 - Macy

**The Last of Us © Naughty Dog**

**Macy © Jamzenn and Berneri**

**No Joel/Ellie-pairing! Only Father/daughter moments.**

**Rated M for language and some scenes.**

* * *

**And like always, huge ass thanks to Johis for translation!**

**Tumblr blog: "lifewithmacy" (contains art, information and other stuff related to this story), check it out if you feel like it. :)**

**Enjoy!**

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**BRIGHT EYES**

**• CHAPTER 2: MACY •**

* * *

Tommy, Joel and Ellie were on their way to the center of Jackson when they suddenly heard someone in the balcony of a nearby cabin, calling for Tommy.

"Ah, it's Peter. I'll see y'all later, I'll come have a look at the puppy tomorrow.. It's been a while since I saw any other dogs apart from Buckley."

They said goodbye to each other, and the other man carried on with the little girl and their new family member, who was slowly starting to show signs of waking up. Joel slightly scratched his beard.

"I'll go ask Maria if there's any leftovers from the dinner, the puppy needs food and drink as soon as possible. I'll give some of the alcohol to her too, I'll keep the third bottle myself. We still need to clean the wounds properly…"

His thoughts were swirling fast, and he was thinking it all out loud at the same time. Ellie couldn't be happier about the fact that the older man had taken the reins as the girl didn't have a clue how to deal with this kind of stuff. Even though last winter she had been the one to keep Joel alive, it had been one of the most horrible experiences in her life and now that she had a chance to count on someone else's decisions, she wasn't complaining.

"You go home, I'll try to be quick. And give the puppy some water."

The word 'home' made the girl feel all warm inside, as she nodded in agreement.

The streets were deserted, which wasn't a miracle considering the night was setting in already and the air was getting colder.

"Give me your bag and I'll take the loot we found too", Joel said and received the smaller bag, putting it on his shoulder.

Joel took the left turn in the crossing, Ellie kept on walking straight down the road until she reached their house. It was standing a little bit apart from all the other buildings, and that suited the two well. Tommy had picked just the right place for them.. The girl walked to the front door and struggled a bit to find a good position to hold the puppy and open the door at the same time. The dog had woken up now but it was just glancing its surroundings unenthusiastically.

_We saved you just in time._

The puppy was so weak now that she couldn't even sit up when the redhead set her down on the worn leather sofa. Cursing at the cold, Ellie lit the fireplace and sat down next to the fire, but quickly sprung up again when she suddenly remembered Joel's words about giving the puppy something to drink.

The young girl rushed to the kitchen trying to find an old metallic cup that they hadn't found useful for any other purpose before.

_This will do._

Soon the fireplace started glowing with a small, warm light. Ellie carefully picked up the puppy and sat down in front of the fire, trying to keep the dog as warm as she could. It was still so cold in the house that the girl didn't bother to take her coat off. She offered the small dog some drink from the cup, and to her delight the puppy lifted its head and drank some of the water. After that it licked Ellie's hand which made the girl giggle out of joy.

After a little while the front door opened and Joel stepped in from the corridor, setting both backpacks down on the floor. They seemed undoubtedly a lot less heavy than earlier.  
"So, how are we doing in here?"

He asked like some kind of a doctor would do, and put the stuff he was still holding in his hands on the floor next to Ellie while waiting for an answer from the girl. Rustling one of the bags, he picked up a few pieces of dry meat out of it and crumbled some of it between his fingers. The dog raised its head, sniffing at the air excitedly. Joel handed some meat for the dog, who enthusiastically snatched the meat from his hands and then started licking his fingers in hopes of getting some more. The sight made the girl smile, this big, strong man with a small, fragile puppy.

In some way it was almost beautiful.

Then the man turned to the freckled girl.

"I also brought us some food, Maria was having a go at me for asking for food for the dog even though we missed the dinner… has the puppy drank anything?"

"Yeah, a little bit… and she licked my hand!"

The excited tone of her voice made Joel smile in a fatherly way, he loved these moments when the girl could just be a kid. She wasn't aware of how hungry she was until the man handed her two chicken legs, still slightly warm.

"Awesome, I was so fucking hungry! Thanks."

Joel sat down on the floor next to Ellie, crossed his legs and took hold of the puppy's paw with his strong, yet gentle hands. He started unrolling the bandage and cleaned the wounds again with some alcohol. After this the bandage was reapplied on the leg again. The man took care of the other remaining wounds around the dogs body, had a look at its ear and then gently pet the animal on its head.

"You'll be fine."

Ellie was looking at this scene quietly, at the same time trying to rip the chicken meat off the bones and occasionally talking to the puppy in a calming manner, who was getting a bit bored when the same areas were being treated for too long. Finally, following Joel's instructions, the girl started feeding the dog the crumbled pieces meat. The dog wolfed it down and licked its lips contentedly, and after eating had a big nice drink of water too.

The fireplace had now warmed up the room enough for Ellie to get rid of her coat and scarf. She carried them to the corridor along with her shoes.

The girl's gaze now moved on to the dog, that was standing still, shaking its tail with its mouth open, almost like smiling. Joel was following from the side, watching how the female puppy took a few hesitant steps, limping slightly, which was to be expected. But clearly there were no broken bones which was a relief.

Joel had now moved to sit on the sofa next to the fireplace, and to Ellie's joy he picked up the guitar that had been lying next to the settee, gently moving his fingers across the strings. The girl jumped on the sofa to sat next to him, bringing her knees up to her chin, and to both of their surprise the puppy followed her, curling up next to her side.

"This one you haven't heard before.", Joel said, letting the first notes out. This info gave the girl new kind of glint in her already excited gaze, and she didn't have to wait for long for the man to start singing. And even though Ellie had heard him sing before, it was always just as fucking brilliant.

_When I was a kid I thought_

_I wanted all the things that I haven't got_

_Oh. I learned the hardest way_

_Then I realized what it took_

_To tell the difference between_

_Thieves and crooks_

_A lesson learned to me and you_

"I like this one, what's it's name?", Ellie asked and let out a little yawn. And no wonder, it was already really late and the day had been long for all the three of them.

"It's uh.. Macy's Day Parade. From a band called Green Day. I used to like them a lot when I was younger…"

Joel's gaze turned distant and he was staring at somewhere behind the flames, sighing deeply.

He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Ellie lean on his side.

"Macy's Day Parade…"

The girl quietly repeated the name and was gently petting the puppy's back, watching the flames play in the fireplace. The fire was crackling lightly, and for a moment it felt like the time had stopped. Joel had stopped playing, and the only sounds in the house were their soft breathing and the flames dancing.

Suddenly the puppy lifted its nose and tilted its head at the guitar. It let out a small whimper, that made both the man and the girl laugh quietly.

"It clearly wants more. And me too."

Ellie smiled and scratched the puppy behind its ears that were flopping around like a puppy's ears would. She kept on leaning on the man's side, and sure enough, the man positioned himself a bit better on the sofa and started singing again with his soft, raspy voice.

_Give me something that I need_

_Satisfaction guaranteed_

_Because I'm thinking about_

_A brand new hope_

_The one I've never known_

_Cause now I know_

_It's all that I wanted_

The song continued for a little while, and the man felt Ellie slowly fall down his side on the sofa. The girl had fallen asleep, and was now trying to curling up in Joel's lap, quietly muttering something. For a moment Joel was just watching the girl sleep peacefully, with a soft smile on his lips.

Then, trying to avoid waking her up, the man slowly put the guitar against the wall, picked up the girl in his arms and carried her in her own little bedroom. Behind him he could hear the small claws scraping against the worn floor, as the puppy limped after Joel to the room and then jumped on Ellie's bed, as if it had done that many, many times before.

Joel pulled the cover over the small body of the girl, and lightly stroked her cheek.

"Good night, baby girl."

Joel had one final look at the puppy that had now fallen asleep as well, its small, furry head on Ellie's legs. The man sank in his thoughts briefly, and then pet the dog behind its ear.

"Good night, Macy."


	3. Chapter 3 - Stables

**The Last of Us © Naughty Dog**

**Macy © Jamzenn and Berneri**

**No Joel/Ellie-pairing! Only Father/daughter moments.**

**Rated M for language and some scenes.**

* * *

**And like always, huge ass thanks to Johis for translation!**

**Tumblr blog: "lifewithmacy" (contains art, information and other stuff related to this story), check it out if you feel like it. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**BRIGHT EYES**

**• CHAPTER 3: STABLES •**

* * *

It had been almost a week since Joel and Ellie brought the puppy in Jackson.

During this time the dog had already started to come out of her shell and reveal her true nature. She demanded exercise. Lots of it. Luckily Ellie was always more than ready to go out and jump in the snow with the dog that was always following the girl like… well, a puppy. She was fond of Joel too, but Ellie was the dog's precious. She would sleep in the girl's bed almost every night, but to Joel's surprise he occasionally found the dog in his bed too. And sometimes both girls in the house found their way next to him in the middle of the night, mostly because of Ellie's nightmares.

Sometimes just because girl wanted.

* * *

"Sit."

Joel's tone of voice was strong and determined.

The puppy sitting in front of him sat down obediently, and looked at the man with her bright brown eyes, as if she was waiting for the next command. The man smiled contentedly at the reaction.

"What the fuck! She did it!"

The girl who just emerged from the kitchen behind him shouted, almost not believing her eyes and got down on the floor to hug the puppy, who they had ended up calling Macy after all, like Joel had called her earlier. The girl thought it was maybe a bit too common, but still "pretty nice", a straight quote from her. Ellie was scratching the puppy excitedly and praising her to the skies.

A hand reached out from behind the girl to ruffle her red hair.

"Don't get too excited, it's just like I thought it'd be.. That Bob had already started giving her some basic training. In this world there's no point in keeping dogs that are too difficult to train and I'm sure he knew it. I'm just testing out which commands she responds to. Better for us…"

"Macy. Stay.", was the next command, and Joel started backing up towards the opposite corner of the house. The young dog tilted her head slightly, but didn't move. Apparently it was still taking a while for her to get used to her new name too. The man was thinking of the next command, when he felt a tug at his sleeve.

"Can I try? Please?" Ellie asked, her eyes glistening, and Joel nodded, clearly amused by the tone of her voice.

Ellie turned to the dog, thinking for a minute…

"Macy, clicker!", the girl abruptly shouted. Joel raised his eyebrows at this sudden, weird 'command'.

"Ellie, I think that-"

He was cut off shortly though, because Macy actually did respond to it by quickly taking up a position, chin on the floor, putting back her ears and holding still, silently.

"Goddammit. How did you think of trying that one out?", the man asked astoundedly and crouched on the floor next to Macy, petting her with lots of praise. The puppy got up on her back legs against Joel and licked his cheek. The sight made Ellie giggle.

"I was talking with Tommy yesterday! He said that most dog owners nowadays taught their furry friends the names of the different kinds of infected, so they'd be more useful than in the way in bad situations.", the girl revealed, with a small, cunning smile.

"Smart.", the bearded man replied briefly and got up, stretching his back with a small sigh.

"Feeling old already, grandpa?", Ellie bantered and got a cushion in her face.

"Take Macy out if you got nothing better to do than be a little smartass.", was his reply and Ellie didn't need to be told twice to do that. It wasn't going to get dark until a few more hours.

Joel caught the cushion flying back mid-air and heard the front door open.

"As long as you remember it's our turn to hunt tonight!"

The man shouted after the girl, who waved her mitten at him, confirming that she heard and understood. The house was suddenly all too quiet, and Joel sighed deeply.

He walked to the window and with a melancholic smile watched the girl and the dog play together until they soon disappeared behind a building. The man felt uncomfortable not having the girl nearby, but it made it a bit easier knowing that Macy was with her. And he knew that once she grew up, the dog would be a lot of help if they did everything right with her.

Yes, the man was happy about the decision to take the dog with them. But mostly he was happy because Ellie deserved all this. All the happiness that Macy would bring in her life.

"Macy!", the girl's clear voice echoed in the air.

The puppy lifted her snout from the brook she had been curiously digging. She then started running towards the girl, her tail wagging uncontrollably. In her mouth she was carrying a half eaten little bird, and when Ellie saw it she grimaced and jumped back a bit.

"Ew, ew EW!"

The puppy put the bird down on the ground and the girl kicked it away with her sneakers.

"You're not taking that with you! Let's go, follow me!"

The puppy was clearly not yet familiar with this command, because she kept trying to wander off from Ellie's side, or maybe the city was just too interesting for the young, curious dog. But the girl didn't give in, and with the help of some small treats managed to keep the dog close to her. The redhead took the training of the dog seriously, and was always looking for chances to practice all kinds of new things with Macy. During their walks, Ellie had quickly noticed that Macy loved every single person she had ran into in the city so far, be it a toddler or an adult, male or female. The small dog had enough love in her heart for everyone she met. At first the adults had been a bit wary of the dog, especially as she was off leash most of the time, but now they had started to come over to pet the tiny fluff ball too.

Ellie was standing proud by her little dog, listening to the praise the puppy received.

"Hmm, we haven't been to see Gavino for a while…" the youngster thought out loud, Macy tilting her head from one side to another, awaiting possible commands. When Ellie started moving, so did the dog.

The puppy limped towards the stables by Ellie's side. The dog's wounds were practically healed already, but the limping stayed due to the damage the barbed wire had done to the tendons. But Macy didn't seem too bothered about her leg, and it wasn't hurting, so they were just told to keep an eye on it.

They had been told this by the person closest to a vet you could find in the town, meaning Emily, a woman in her forties, who had been just one year from completing her degree in veterinary medicine until the human society had fallen apart a bit over 20 years ago.

Ellie opened the thick wooden door to the stables. It was getting so cold she could see her breath, and the girl was happy with her decision to put a hat on today. The stables were already quite familiar to Macy, even though she was still a bit scared of the huge horses. She stayed close to Ellie's legs and jumped a bit when she suddenly heard a voice from the left side.

"Hi, Ellie!", said a familiar voice from one of the stalls, and was suddenly followed by a face of a 19-year old boy. Behind the boy was a white horse, one of the most beautiful animals in the stables, but also one of the most difficult ones to ride.

"If you're looking for Gav, I just took him outside. And cleaned his stall, you're welcome.", said the boy, called Derrick, with a grin on his face. He was blowing the dark strands of hair off his face and leaned on his pitchfork.

"Hiya Macy."

He said when he noticed the puppy and crouched on the floor next to her. The puppy dashed to the boy and happily let him pet her and scratch her behind the ears. She was making little contented whines and suddenly flopped on the floor on her back, making both youngsters laugh.

Ellie smiled apologetically.

"Sorry that I haven't visited that much lately! Macy's taking up so much time, but I promise to brush up on that!"

The boy waved his hand in the air.

"Not a problem, I understand completely. But I gotta get back to work now, are you going to get Gav tonight? I noticed you and the old man's name on the list.", Derrick inquired and stood up slowly.

Ellie laughed at Derrick's mention of an old man, as she knew he was just joking. No one in their right mind would actually insult Joel in this redhead's presence. People in Jackson were actually a bit afraid of the pair because of their special relationship, and it wasn't helped by the fact that Ellie had probably killed more infected in total than all the men in the village that mainly just saw them from the wall safely behind their rifles.

"Nah, we'll just go to the hills, Joel said we'll be fine walking. But I was thinking of going riding tomorrow with Macy, I'd like her to get more used to the horse. Is Gav available tomorrow afternoon?"

"I think so, people seem to unconsciously think it's your horse. Not a lot of people take him out in the woods anymore, guess they seem to be afraid of your or Joel's revenge in case anything happened to him."

Derrick laughed and moved back to the stall, saying bye to Ellie who was now heading towards the back door of the stables that would take her straight to the horse paddock outside. The girl was smiling at the thought of the idea, that Gavino was pretty much her own horse, even in other people's eyes now.

Outside Ellie was trying to look for the horse, whistled swiftly and watched Gav raise hid head from a pile of hay nearby and quickly trotted to the girl, nickering softly.

The cold made his muzzle sparkle slightly, and the blaze-faced horse was reaching for the girl's mittens.

"Sorry, I got no treats with me right now."

Ellie apologized to the horse, scratching him behind the ears and on his forehead. Gav stayed near her for a moment, but eventually returned to his pile of hay. The girl was looking at the horse for a little longer, until she noticed that it was suddenly getting more and more darker outside. It would be time to go hunting soon.

All this time Macy had been looking at the horse with big eyes behind the safety of Ellie's legs, and didn't dare move until the bigger animal had started to walk away from them.

"Oh poor you, Gav's not going to hurt you. But let's go, I bet Joel is waiting for us already.", the girl stroked Macy's head and started jogging towards the other side of the village, where their house was located. The dog was following at her heels, letting out a few high pitched and excited barks. She really loved running.


	4. Chapter 4 - Hunting

**The Last of Us © Naughty Dog**

**Macy © Jamzenn and Berneri**

**Thanks to Johis for translating!**

**Tumblr blog: "lifewithmacy"**

* * *

**BRIGHT EYES**

**• CHAPTER 4: HUNTING •**

* * *

"Let's get going then."

The man said by the doorway to Ellie's room and walked to the corridor. He heard the girl move behind her and then stop behind his back.

"Hey, Joel...", Ellie said hesitantly. Joel knew this tone of voice all too well. The girl was clearly after something. With a deep sigh the man turned around to look at her. Ellie had picked Macy up and was now stretching her arms towards him and held the cute puppy next to his face. The dog wagged her tail and moved her head from one side to another, making her big ears flop around.

"Can we take Macy with us this time, pleaaaase?"

So far the puppy had been taken to Tommy and Maria for 'daycare', since Joel had deemed the puppy to be too young to take part in the hunt and that she'd be in the way.

"I don't know…", Joel tried to avoid looking the puppy in the eye, those cute eyes that were way too close to his face…

"You saw the commands she knows! If something goes wrong because of Macy, I promise I won't ask it again till she's older..!"

The girl insisted, and even though she got some good points, Joel hesitated for a little longer until the puppy, still held near his face by Ellie, suddenly licked his nose. Sigh.

"Alright then, you insisting on this is almost worse than your already bad jokes."

The man finally said, however reluctantly, and picked up his backpack. Ellie followed the motion, grabbed her winter coat, put her mittens on and her big fluffy winter hat - a black woolly hat with a white bobble on top. Finally she wrapped a bright red scarf around her neck.

Both Joel and Ellie were forever grateful to Tommy for these garments that would keep them warm even during the coldest days of the winter. Last winter Ellie didn't even have gloves, not to mention a beanie or a scarf. The memory of that snuck into Ellie's mind but she promptly shook it off.

"Hehe. What's red and bad for your teeth?", Ellie grinned as she was checking up on her arrows and bow.

Joel sighed deep and tilted his head, prepared to hear the answer.

"A brick!", laughed the girl and made Joel chuckle a bit too.

"Ok… let's go.", the man said with his deep voice, wrapped the scarf around his neck and stepped out of the door. The light layer of snow was creaking below their feet on the porch and the night was cloudless. The sky was full of stars and they could both see their breathing outside. The temperature was close to -20 degrees.

Macy was running around in their feet nervously, the female puppy knew from experience that she would be separated from her small pack again. Even though she liked Tommy and Maria, and especially Buckley, she was anxious to be apart from Joel and Ellie for longer times. But when her owners headed towards the gates, she started jumping around in the snow excitedly, almost running into Joel's feet. This made the man a bit annoyed, and right after the gate was open, he commanded the dog.

"Macy, follow."

The man said with a raspy voice, and the young dog obediently placed herself on his left side. Ellie was smiling behind the pair.

Luckily Macy was not a noisy dog, the sounds she made were more like whining or sniffling, either happy or unhappy ones, depending on the situation. Only when she got really excited she would bark and howl, but you wouldn't be able to call her a yappy dog.

The trio started climbing up a hill, luckily not too sloping. The moon was lighting their way up. The snow was a lot thicker now, and Ellie couldn't help but laugh seeing Macy trying to wade through the snow, only her head showing. She was bravely trying to keep up with them, but in the end Joel ended up carrying her until they reached the top of the hill where the snow was more stamped down. For a while they looked over Jackson in the beautiful winter night, the lights of the city could be seen far and they could even see their own house in the distance.

"Alright. I don't think we're going to catch anything bigger than a rabbit, the hunting group in the morning found a little herd of elks and managed to kill two of them. Doubt they'll be coming back for a while."

Joel explained to the girl, who nodded in understanding and crouched down. Macy started strolling around impatiently and this time Ellie commanded her to walk alongside her. Not a single small rustle or sound made by the nocturnal animals went unnoticed by their alert senses.

The pair was about to go around an old, wooden cabin, when suddenly they heard a very unwelcomed sound. Quiet clicking from somewhere inside the shack. And as if that wasn't enough, Joel heard a deeper, even more disgusting sound.

"Bloater…"

Ellie whispered almost soundlessly, as if she was reading Joel's thoughts. They tried to sneak further away from the source, but the creaking of snow under their shoes made the clicker burst out of the building, and it now started patrolling the area, letting out a quiet "click click click click click"-sound that made them shiver. Everything had happened so fast it took them a while to fully comprehend what this meant.

They were stuck.

If they moved, the snow would give their location out. If they used a gun, the bloater would attack them in no time. And the infected was now so close that it would surely hear if Ellie tried to take her bow out of her backpack.

"Oh shit, why now…"

Joel glanced at Macy, who had her fangs exposed and ears lowered - but wasn't growling. Bob had really done a good job with this dog. The puppy's stare was fixed at the clicker, that was ominously moving closer to their hiding place, the atrocious sound of the clicking filling the air. Suddenly the puppy moved, which made the infected turn sharply in their direction, and before Joel or Ellie could react, the dog had ran past them and the clicker into the woods. The infected let out an inhumane screech, and charged after the puppy, swinging its arms around.

Ellie twitched intending to spring up and run after Macy, but Joel stopped her with his strong arms, and his gaze kept the girl quiet, although nervous. The man was just as surprised and worried about the situation as the girl, but he wouldn't let her just storm into the line of fire because of the dog. At the same time the bloater burst out of the building, heading off into the forest after the distant voices of Macy and the clicker.

For a while the pair was just breathing shallowly, until the sounds of the infected were far enough to allow them to move again.

"What the fuck just happened… we have to find Macy…", Ellie got up and took a few deep breaths. Adrenaline was racing through her body and her hands were shaking. That had been too damn close.

"Macy saved us.", the girl added as Joel was still quiet. The redhead now took out her bow and one arrow. Joel run his hand through his hair a few times.

"Macy can outrun them any time. I'm not sure if that was a result of training or just instinct, but I've never been this happy for having the furball. Let's wait for a while. If Macy doesn't come back, we'll go look for her."

The stress brought upon them by the situation hadn't fully kicked in yet, and the man still kept his voice low and quiet. His hand was looming over the revolver. Just in case. But he made some important points, and even Ellie realized it wasn't the brightest idea to just act on emotion and run after the dog.

A small sigh escaped her lips, everything had been so well. But every time the girl thought life was finally smiling at her, something like this happened.

Ellie was starting to shiver of the cold due to staying still for so long. Joel got up and urged the girl to do the same. He was trying to focus his hearing towards the forest, but the only sounds he heard was the branches of the trees rustling in the wind. But suddenly he could hear something blending in with this sound - a distant sound of steady running approaching them, and suddenly they could see a familiar figure at the edge of the forest. Ellie wanted to scream out of joy when Macy jogged to them, jumped up and licked her freckled face, whining excitedly. Joel sighed with relief, but was still focused on the situation.

"Let's get the hell out of here, I have to give Tommy a little hint about those bastards. They can send the men out tomorrow to get rid of them.", Joel patted the girl's back lightly and they quietly set off back towards Jackson. Ellie managed to shoot a squirrel on their way home, otherwise their hunting trip wasn't much of a success.

But they were alive.


	5. Chapter 5 - Coldness

**The Last of Us © Naughty Dog**

**Macy © Jamzenn and Berneri**

**Thanks to Johis for translating!**

**Tumblr blog: "lifewithmacy"**

* * *

**BRIGHT EYES**

**• CHAPTER 5: COLDNESS •**

* * *

Winter was slowly but steadily making way for spring. Even the small changes had a positive effect on everyone in Jackson. People in the town were clearly more active and lively now that the days were longer and the nightly frosts were getting more and more rare.

Ellie kept her promise to Derrick and visited the stables more frequently. Gavino got more exercise too now that Macy was finally brave enough to join her when they went for a ride.

In fact, the young dog was almost completely confident and herself when it was only one certain horse she was around. In the stables she was still a bit nervous and stayed safely behind Ellie's legs.

But in any case, Macy wasn't really a puppy anymore, she had grown up tremendously and according to Emily she was now about 6 months old. Her body was in a good condition, only the slight limp in the right leg was there to stay but it had become a part of Macy now. Her coat was shining and in a great condition too. She was wearing a red bandana, Ellie had lately become interested in handicrafts to the degree that she had been working on lots of different bandanas for Macy with any fabric spares and scraps she could find.

The warm sun of early spring was warming Ellie's back as she was riding down a familiar forest path on the edge of Jackson. This part of the forest was safe, as it was being checked for any infected at regular intervals. But you could never be too cautious, and the girl was, as usual, carrying her backpack. She didn't have her bow with her this time, but besides the familiar switchblade she was carrying a hunting rifle and a 9mm pistol, the same one that Joel had given to her earlier after she had shown her skills with the rifle.

Ellie loved these peaceful moments with Gavino and Macy. The horse snorted and broke into a steady gallop at Ellie's command. This made Macy excited, and she was running alongside the horse, clearly seeming to have a race in mind, now making the bigger animal speed up too. Ellie couldn't help but laugh at these two. They carried on the playful race along the forest road.

Suddenly out of nowhere a bird took off from the foliage nearby, letting out a high pitched squeak. Gavino was a bit startled and sidestepped quickly, but as he set his hoof on the ground he didn't realize there was a hole beneath the snow. Macy had stopped to look and had no time to do anything apart from watching how the big animal fell on the forest floor, shrieking, and the girl who had been straddled on him flew off the horse like a ragdoll and rolled down the little slope next to them.

Ellie's head was spinning, she still hadn't realized what had just happened, but she saw Gavino lying on the ground and suddenly memories of dead Callus returned to her mind with force. Her whole body was aching, yet she still tried to force herself up, but slipped as she felt a sharp pain climbing up her left leg.

"Gav..!"

The shout was interrupted by a creaking sound below her feet, and for a moment it felt like time had stopped until she felt the surface of the frozen pond give way and she was embraced by the icy water. Ellie hadn't noticed where she had ended up due to the fall, but got informed about it in a really shitty way. The pond was so deep that her legs could not reach the bottom. The old, familiar fear and panic of drowning returned in a split second, and the cold water felt like thousands of icy daggers in her body.

Even though Joel had taught Ellie to swim last summer, it wasn't much of a help in a situation like this, where the freezing water was trying to suck all the warmth out of her small body, and Ellie could feel the panic growing inside her. The girl started screaming and tried to reach the edge of the ice and pull herself out of the water, but it was too slippery and the water was way too cold. Her body was already stiffening up. She was kicking with her feet, trying to move upwards, but the cold water had already started doing its job.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck…"

Her teeth were clattering more and more, every time she tried to pull her body out of the water. With no result. From the corner of her eye she saw Gavino get up from the snow, shook his body and hanging his head low. The reins had snapped and the stallion was holding his front leg up.

_At least Gav's alive. Where's Macy…_

As if she had been called, the young dog peeked from behind a pile of snow and whined quietly as she was trying to approach Ellie.

"Macy! Macy! Joel! Find Joel! Where's Joel!", the girl started shouting to her pet in a voice filled with panic, as she didn't know what else to do. They were so far away from Jackson, that no one would hear her calls for help, and it would be a long time before anyone would set off to look for her… Maybe no one would ever find her body. Tears started forming in her green eyes, being helpless was a horrible feeling.

The puppy didn't know what to do. Macy understood that commands were to be followed, but her instincts were telling her to stay, since the alpha of her pack was clearly in trouble. The dog was also afraid of ice and water, and was scared to step on the icy pond. She started whining more and barking, trying to encourage Ellie to get up. But the girl was just repeating the same words one after another.

"Macy. Where's Joel… Joel… J-joel…", the sentences got shorter and shorter due to the coldness.

The young dog run behind the hill, but came back every time. She ran back and forth several times, until finally she didn't return anymore. Ellie's body was shivering from the cold and she had to rely on Macy finding Joel in time. Tears were now freely falling down her freckled face.

Every minute felt like an hour.

Suddenly the girl felt really tired, and the freezing water didn't feel so bad anymore… Ellie almost wanted to fall asleep in it.

Macy was running towards the town as fast as she could. Sniffing the air, the dog went back to their house first, but didn't find Joel there. She didn't know what to do, and was about to run back to the forest again, back to Ellie, when she saw a familiar figure walking down the path. The dog barked, clearly relieved, and ran to the man's feet.

"Ah, Macy… Hey Ellie, did you get back already?", Joel asked out loud when he saw the dog, assuming the girl would be there too. No answer. Joel raised his brow a bit and put down the cauldron he had got as a spare from the kitchen.

Only now did the man notice that Macy seemed really nervous and was moving anxiously in the man's feet and whining in a high pitched tone. And Ellie was nowhere to be seen.

"Macy… Where the hell is Ellie?"

The man's breathing got tense and tons of questions and horrible pictures and fears of what had happened were spinning around in his mind simultaneously.

The young dog sprinted off than the fastest greyhound. Joel didn't even fetch his backpack from the house, he left in such a hurry. People stopped when they first saw a dog run through the town as if a demon had been on her heels, and after her a man in his fifties. And because the little girl of that man couldn't be seen, the conversations kicked off straight away.  
"Tommy!", the man noticed his brother his brother on patrol on the concrete gate. Tommy looked down and was about to greet Joel happily, but saw his face and turned serious as well.

"When did Ellie ride out of the town? Have you seen her?", Joel asked his little brother, trying to catch his breath, and Tommy could notice the panic rising in his voice. Something was wrong. Really wrong.

"About an hour ago and I haven't seen her, why? Or wait, why's Macy with you? Oh crap."

Tommy turned to the man in his thirties he had spent time with on the wall.

"Adam, can you take over alone? Ask Derrick to come over with the radio if you want to.", the man said and handed over his radio to his guarding partner, who just nodded in agreement and took a look at Joel, intrigued. When it was about his big brother or his little girl, Tommy was always ready to help.

The men stepped in the forest, Tommy was carrying a rifle and he had given his pistol to his big brother. They were now just following the dog and tried to keep an eye on Gavino's footprints. Joel's hands were sweating and he felt like screaming out of frustration because the horse nor the girl were nowhere to be seen. After each hill there was just more snow, and more forest.

But Macy's determined footsteps took them forward and further in the woods, and finally Tommy saw Gavino standing next to a pond in the forest. A pond. Bad thoughts took over both their minds, as they ascended the last hill. Joel felt his blood run cold as he recognized the familiar redhead.

"Ellie!"

The girl was lying on the ice, with her face against the cold surface. She was still holding on to the edge of the ice, almost in a convulsing way, trying to keep her upper body out of the water. But she wasn't reacting to Joel's voice at all.

"ELLIE!", Joel shouted again, now louder and more desperately, dropping his pistol on the snow and going prone on the snow, trying to pull himself closer to the girl on the ice. He felt Tommy's hands grabbing his ankles, and couldn't be more grateful for the fast reaction of his brother. Joel was dragging his way towards Ellie, who now made a slight movement. The ice was creaking below the man, but luckily didn't give out.

"J-joel?", a weak sound came out of the girl, and she suddenly felt two strong arms pull her out of the cold embrace of the pond. The man didn't say a word, he had to focus and gather all his self-control in order not to break down in front of the girl.

"G-gavino…", Ellie whispered quietly and felt that they were approaching the edge of the pond, away from the cold grave.

"Don't worry about him, we have to get you out of here.", the man said in a calming manner, although with a slightly shaking voice, and pulled Ellie close to his body, trying to give her as much of his body heat as he could. A lone tear fell down his face, as he finally got up on the edge of the pond.

_Oh shit, she's so cold. Way too cold._

"J-joel, I can't feel my legs.", the girl started to sniffle against the man's chest, and Joel could clearly feel the little girl trembling in his arms. Her freckled face was pale white, and her lips were starting to turn blue. Suddenly the man felt lost, he didn't know what to do.

_No._

For a moment Tommy was just watching from the side, not daring to interrupt, but suddenly he saw a hazy gaze in Joel's eyes. Tommy walked to him with quick footsteps, and slapped his big brother on the shoulder lightly.

"Go, take Ellie home. Put the fire on. Make her warm. I'll bring Gavino home and get a doctor. NOW!"

Tommy had to shout the last word, as Joel seemed like he had frozen where he was, he was just holding the little girl and rocking his body in the snow now. Tommy had seen the this situation once already 20 years ago, and he wasn't going to let Joel lose his other daughter now.

Tommy's shout snapped Joel out of it, and he immediately took off and started running back towards the town. Macy sprinted after him, but kept her distance and and walked with her head low. She sensed that something was wrong.

"Don't do this, don't do this… Not again..", the man repeated under his breath as he was tramping through the snow. He wrapped his coat around Ellie, who was now quietly lying in his strong arms.

The situation reminded him of Salt Lake City too much. Way too much.

Joel tried to shake the girl a little to get any kind of reaction out of her. At the same time his footsteps were leading them towards Jackson, in an increasing speed. Small twigs and branches were hitting his face, but he didn't even notice it because all his attention was on the girl on his arms.

Ellie wasn't moving anymore.


End file.
